Wednesday, January 6, 2016

What's in a Name? Burma vs. Myanmar

This is a
country with two names.In 1989, the
ruling military junta decided to officially change the name from Burma to
Myanmar (at the same time renaming Rangoon “Yangon”).The official reason was that Burma’s name
derived from the majority Burmese population, the Bamar people, who make up
nearly 70% of the population and dominate the country both culturally and
politically.Unlike their neighbors Thailand,
Laos and Vietnam, the rulers wanted a name that was more inclusive of
minorities like the Shan, Mon, Kachin, Chin, and Karen who have lived in the
hills and outlying areas for centuries.These people are all now citizens of Myanmar.

Those
sympathetic to the military regime (or at least tolerant of it), and some
minority groups are fine with calling the country Myanmar, while those in
opposition, including the National League for Democracy and many international
governments tend to prefer the name Burma.Most news organizations and governments worldwide have adopted Myanmar.
When visiting the country, there’s no danger using one or the other.I prefer Burma, and not just because my
sympathies lie with the National League for Democracy.Trying to form a demonym from the name
Myanmar is a little tricky.Myanmarese
may be the officially preferred term, but it’s kinda ridiculous.Some locals use “Myanmar people”.In this blog, I plan on using both Myanmar
and Burma to describe the country, and Burmese to as the general adjective for
local people or traditions. I read somewhere that the preferred noun for a
Myanmar citizen is a Myanma, but I can’t seem to confirm this anywhere on the
Internet. Every time I type in “Myanma”, it autocorrects it as “Myanmar”.

Dr. Arnold Plotnick (MS, DVM, ACVIM) blogs about professional and personal life experiences as an expert in the field of feline veterinary medicine.

Dr. Arnold Plotnick is a board-certified veterinary internist, feline expert, and the founder of Manhattan Cat Specialists. In addition to his medical work, he is an award-winning veterinary medicine writer.